MIAMI – To a lineup of love and support, a Miami firefighter who was seriously hurt in a crash this weekend was released from the hospital Tuesday.
"Watching the guys come and being there for me -- there's nothing like the brotherhood this fire department has," firefighter Javier Corrales said outside Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center.
Corrales hardly remembers the rescue he and his colleagues were called to along Interstate 95 just after midnight Saturday.
"It started out as what we would call a run-of-the-mill routine accident," Corrales said.
The firefighters were working to pull a man from a vehicle that involved in a hit-and-run crash when a passing Toyota SUV lost control and struck Corrales and a colleague.
In a chaotic instant, the firefighters, who were there to save others, became the victims. A passenger in the SUV, 17-year-old James Villa, was killed in the crash.
"All these thoughts going through your head making sure that he's going to make it through. That he's going to be OK. That he's going to be with us," said Corrales' wife, Yuliet.
The other firefighter hurt in the crash was released from the hospital on Saturday.
Corrales said he looks forward to getting back to work, in the inherently risky business of going into danger to save others.
"You never think something like this would happen to you - especially with what we do every day," he said.